Baby bed sheet with removable panel

ABSTRACT

A BED SHEET FOR BABY BEDS IS DISCLOSED. IT INCLUDES A CONTOURED RETAINER THAT ENCIRCLES THE FOUR SIDES OF A BABY BED MATTRESS AND SNUGLY FITS THE CONTOUR THEREOF. THE RETAINER OVERLAPS ONLY A PORTION OF THE TOP SIDE OF THE MATTRESS ADJACENT THE SIDES THEREBY LEAVING MOST OF THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE MATTRESS UNCOVERED. A PANEL IS PROVIDED TO COVER THE EXPOSED UPPER SURFACE OF THE MATTERSS. SLIDE FASTENERS ARE USED TO RELEASABLY ATTACH THE PANEL TO THE CONTOURED RETAINER.

March 1971 F. w. ALLISON 3,570,026

BABY BED SHEET WITH REMOVABLE PANEL Filed May 20, 1968 Ma I0 22 I8 [56 FIGS [4a I30 3 Ma 15a 5 Frances WAllison INVEN TOR FIG. 3 FIG. 4

av WIW ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,570,026 BABY BED SHEET WITH REMOVABLE PANEL Frances W. Allison, 2230 Sul Ross, Houston, Tex. 77006 Filed May 20, 1968, Ser. No. 730,416 Int. Cl. A47g 9/04 US. Cl. -334 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bed sheet for baby beds is disclosed. It includes a contoured retainer that encircles the four sides of a baby bed mattress and snugly fits the contour thereof. The retainer overlaps only a portion of the top side of the mattress adjacent the sides thereby leaving most of the upper surface of the mattress uncovered. A panel is provided to cover the exposed upper surface of the mattress. Slide fasteners are used to releasably attach the panel to the contoured retainer.

This invention relates to sheets for covering baby bed mattresses.

Baby bed mattresses are usually covered with contoured sheets. These sheets cover the top surface of the mattress, encircle the sides of the mattress, and extend part way over the bottom surface of the mattress. These bed sheets are designed to fit snugly on the mattress so that there will be little if any slack or looseness in the portion of the sheet covering the top surface of the mattress. This is done for at least two reasons. One, of course, is to avoid wrinkles and thereby provide a more comfortable bed for the baby to sleep in. Secondly, the baby may get tangled up in his bed sheet if it is loose. Further, usually an absorbent pad is placed between the bed sheet and the top surface of the mattress and a tight fitting bed sheet will hold the pad in place.

To change the conventional contoured sheet on a baby bed, since the bed sheet fits snugly around the mattress and extends part way over the lower surface thereof, one end of the mattress has to be raised up and the mattress bent in order to slip the contoured sheet off of One end of the mattress. Then after the sheet is removed from one end of the mattress, that end is lowered back into position on the springs of the bed and the other end is raised to finish removing the sheet. It is usually necessary to raise both ends because baby beds are designed so that there will be very little clearance between the sides of the mattress and the side protective bars of the bed, which keep the baby from falling off the mattress. The same procedure is then repeated when installing the new sheet.

Further complicating the Changing of a baby bed sheet are the bumper guards, which are usually placed inside the baby bed to keep the baby from striking his head against the side bars of the bed. These bumper guards are attached to the side bars and are located just above the mattress inside of the side bars. These bumper guards have to be removed or raised up out of the way before the ends of the mattress can be raised up far enough to permit the bed sheet to be slipped off and and a new one installed.

As is generally well known, particularly to parents, the sheets on baby beds are frequently changed. Therefore, there is a need for a sheet for a baby bed mattress that will permit the sheet to be changed without having to move the mattress in the bed or disturb the bumper guards, if any, that are placed around the inside of the bed above the mattress, and it is an object of this invention to proyide such a sheet.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a bed sheet for a baby bed that can be changed without re- 3,570,026 Patented Mar. 16, 1971 moving the baby from the bed. Obviously, as described above, when changing a baby bed with the commonly used contoured bed sheets, the baby would have to be removed from the bed, while the sheet is being changed.

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a bed sheet for a baby bed mattress wherein only that portion of the sheet that is soiled in use is removed and replaced with a freshly laundered portion.

It is another object of this invention to provide a bed sheet for the mattress of a baby bed having a removable panel covering most of the top surface of the mattress, which panel can be quickly and easily removed and replaced, yet the panel is held firmly in place on the mattress and free of wrinkles, when in use.

These and other objects, advantages, and features of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of this specification including the attached drawings and appended claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a baby bed mattress covered by the sheet of this invention with one corner of the removable panel of the sheet released from the retainer portion and folded back to illustrate the releasable holding means employed in the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of the bottom of the removable panel of the sheet;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view through the mattress and sheet of FIG. 1 taken along line 33 with the mattress omitted from the figure for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1, here again with the mattress not shown for clarity; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary bottom view of one corner of the mattress and sheet of FIG. 1 showing the preferred method of attaching the contoured retainer of the sheet in place on the mattress.

Baby bed mattress 10 is shown covered by the sheet of this invention in FIG. 1. The figure includes a portion of a typical baby bed to show how the mattress fits closely between side bars 12, which extend upwardly on all sides of the mattress.

The sheet of this invention includes contoured retainer 14 and panel 16. The contoured retainer is shaped to encircle the four sides of the mattress and snugly fit the contour thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the retainer includes vertical side portion 14a that encircles the four sides of the mattress. Strips 13a, 13b, 13c and 13d extend over the surface of the mattress and have one edge connected to vertical side portion 14a. The ends of the strips are connected also. In the same manner, strips 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d are attached along their edges to side portion 14a and extended a short distance over the bottom of the mattress.

Thus, this portion of the sheet is constructed much like the well known contoured sheets, which are used as the bottom sheet on many beds today, except that it has a large rectangular opening in the portion that covers the top surface of the mattress. As explained above, to put a contoured sheet on a baby bed mattress, it is necessary that the ends of the mattress be lifted alternately to provide sufiicient clearance between the ends and the side bars at each end to allow the sheet to be placed over the ends. Contoured retainer 14 is installed on the mattress in a similar manner. Once in position, however, it need not be removed through many sheet changes, as will be fully explained below.

Panel 16 is generally rectangular in shape and is designed to cover the top portion of the mattress that is exposed after retainer 14 is installed on the mattress. In many cases, it is desired to use a quilted absorbent pad to protect the mattress. With the sheet of this invention,

such a pad may be placed over the top of the mattress with its edges inserted underneath side strips 13a13d of the retainer before panel 16 is attached to the retainer.

Means are provided for releasably attaching the panel to the retainer. In the embodiment shown, slide fasteners 18 and 20 are employed for this purpose. Each slide fastener is made up of two stringers. Stringer 18a of fastener 18 is attached to the inward edge of strip 130, adjacent one side of mattress 10, and strip 20a of slide fastener 20 is attached to the edge of strip 136 adjacent the diametrically opposite side of the mattress. In the embodiment shown, the two parallel strips 13a and 130 that are provided with the stringers of the slide fasteners extend parallel to the short sides of the mattress.

To attach panel 16, it is located over the opening in the top of the retainer on top of the mattress and the slide fasteners connected together. Preferably, starting bars 21 of the two slide fasteners are located cater-cornered from each other on the panel and the retainer so that either end of the panel can be located at either end of the mattress and the adjacent stringers connected.

Stringers 18b and 20b are attached to opposite sides of panel 16 the proper distance apart to hold the panel on the top surface of the mattress wrinkle free when the stringers of the slide fasteners are connected. Preferably, both stringers 18b and 20b are located inwardly a short distance from the sides of the panel with which they are parallel. This provides end flaps 22 and 24, which overlap the slide fasteners and protect the baby from them. To further protect the baby and keep him from pulling the flaps back and possibly unzipping the panel from the sheet as he grows older and more curious, snaps or hook fasteners 26 are located at the corners of the flaps and at the inner corners of strips 130 and 130 to hold the flaps over the slide fasteners.

FIG. shows an alternate embodiment for the retainer. In this embodiment, the side panel 14a and lower strips b and 150 are split and arranged to overlap. This allows the retainer to be fitted more easily around the mattress. After the retainer is in place, the adjacent ends of bottom strips 15b and 15c are connected together by fasteners 30.

After the retainer is in place and panel 16 is attached to it through slide fasteners 18 and 20, the bed is ready to receive the baby. When the panel becomes soiled, which may happen one or more times a day, it can be removed by releasing slide fasteners 18 and and a new panel connected to the retainer. It is therefore contemplated that several panels will be employed with each retainer and that a retainer" once installed usually will not need to be removed for cleaning for a number of days.

Thus, with this type sheet, the ends of the mattress do not have to be raised up from their place in the bed to change the sheet. Neither is it necessary to disturb the baby bumper guards, which may be in place around the edge of the mattress to protect the baby from striking his head on bars 11. Further, panel 16 can be replaced without removing the baby from the bed. To do this, the baby is placed at one end of the mattress, the other end is unzipped, a new panel is connected to that end of the retainer. The baby is then moved onto the new panel, the

4 other end of the soiled panel is released from the retainer and the remaining free end of the new panel connected thereto, and the job is complete. This, of course, is a much safer way of changing a sheet than having to place the baby somewhere else, while his bed is being changed.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the apparatus and structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having been described, what is claimed 1. A bed sheet for a baby bed mattress, comprising a contoured retainer shaped to encircle the two ends and two sides of a rectangularly-shaped baby bed mattress and snugly fit the contour thereof, said retainer having parallel strips which cover a portion of the top surface of the mattress adjacent the two ends of the mattress, a panel for covering the remaining uncovered portion of the top surface of the mattress, and means attached to the two parallel strips and spaced inwardly from the ends of the mattress for releasably attaching the panel to the two parallel strips to permit the panel to be replaced with another panel without having to remove the contoured retainer or the baby from the bed, said releasably attaching means comprising two separable slide fasteners, each fastener having two stringers with one stringer attached to one of said parallel strips and the other attached to the panel, with the starting ends of the two slide fasteners located cater-cornered from each other so that either stringer on the panel can be attached to either stringer on the retainer.

2. The bed sheet of claim 1 in which the panel and the parallel strips overlap to cover the slide fasteners.

3. The bed sheet of claim 2 further provided with additional releasable fasteners for holding the parallel strips and panel in overlapping relationship to keep the occupant of the bed from reaching either of the slide fasteners without first releasing the fasteners holding the panel and strip in overlapping relationship.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,440,891 5/1948 Bockhold 5334 2,537,652 1/1951 Churchill 5334 2,789,292 4/1957 Budinquest 5334 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 5-354 

